PUBLISHED: 11:46 EST, 25 November 2013 | UPDATED: 11:48 EST, 25 November 2013
A woman who donated wedding dresses to military brides has stolen $5.1million from a medical non-profit company.
Ephonia Green worked at the Association of American Medical Colleges while also owning her own bridal dress salon outside of Washington, D.C.
By registering fake companies and then sending invoices for millions of dollars from the non-profit to those companies, Green was able to pocket $5.1million since 2005.
Not so charitable: Ephonia Green, who runs this Maryland bridal store stole $5.1million over the course of several years while at the same time arranging to giveaway wedding gowns to military brides
The Washington Post reports that the details of her embezzlement scheme have been revealed since she is expected to go into a district court today for a plea deal hearing.
In the past few years, 44-year-old Green has taken on the role of a ‘fairy godmother’ to many service members as she arranged to have her store partner with Brides Across America to give free gowns to military fiancées.
Green was listed as one of the top 10 most fascinating people by DC Spotlight in 2012 and helped 275 brides enjoy their big day that much more.
One such bride was Elizabeth Felps, whose husband had just arrived back from Afghanistan in time for their wedding.
‘I know I will never forget what you did for me and so many other women out there. THANK YOU Ephonia and all of the ladies who help you in your shop!’ Mrs Felps wrote as one of the testimonials on Green’s Couture Miss Bridal and Formal’s testimonial site.
Green had been working as an administrative assistant at the Association of American Medical Colleges for years at that point, and her bosses there had no idea about her connection to the bridal shop until after opening the investigation.
Out of their uniform: Green worked with a charity called Brides Across America to give 275 wedding dresses away for free (two of whom are seen here, but they did not necessarily work with Green)
The way that Green allegedly funneled the money from the company to her own bank accounts was by registering company names that were extremely similar to other well-known companies.
One clear example was when she created almost 200 fake invoices that she claimed were going to the Brookings Institution, the famed think tank; little did AAMC officials know that she had arranged it so that their checks were going to a newly-registered company called the Brookings Institute.
Green was able to pocket $3.7million by changing only four letters.
The Brookings gambit was one of her most expensive forays, as The Post reports that she originally began with smaller amounts and upped the numbers when she became more confident with the scheme.
The AAMC, which is the group in charge of the MCAT entrance exams for medical school, became curious about the invoices after their bank called them to report a discrepancy in July.
At that time, the AAMC was meant to pay one of their true vendors $113,000- so the number did not initially spark concern- but the bank put a hold on the payment since the invoice number did not match that of the vendor’s other statements.
Instead, the second check was being directed by Green into a bank account that she had opened just two days earlier.
The paper reported that Green used some of her ill-gotten gains to pay off car loans, give to her church, and help run her bridal boutique with their charitable giving.
‘They give to us, and, you know, when you’re getting married…that’s that dream,’ she said in her 2012 interview for her DC Spotlight profile.
She said they ‘just (want) to help with some of the expense and the cost.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513314/Fairy-godmother-military-brides-allegedly-stole-millions-nonprofit-directing-funds-fake-companies.html#ixzz2lgFORQIN Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Categories: Societal
Engineering Evil 